Winged Things
by redrose7856
Summary: A Maximum Ride/Prison Break crossover. Michael's new cellmate isn't what he expected.
1. Chapter 1

Maximum Ride: No Life Behind Bars

**Disclaimer: I own, like, nothing. Prison Break, MR, heck, even this story line has probably been used before! So, I own nothing in this fic, which is probably for the best. **

Panama City, Mexico

Michael Scofield scanned the courtyard. Again. He let out a relieved sigh. No sign of Lechero, the headhunter at the Sona maximum prison, who had it out for Michael.

"No sign of him, huh?" asked a voice. Michael didn't flinch as he turned his blue eyes up to stare at former FBI Agent Alexander Mahone. The man who'd hunted Michael and his brother, Lincoln. Who'd killed their father. Who'd…..saved his life. Michael sighed.

"What do you want, Alex?" he asked wearily.

"You've gotta get us out of here!" Mahone begged, kneeling down so that he and Michael were eye to eye. The corners of Michael's mouth twitched.

"Do I?" he asked. "I don't _have_ to do anything." His heart lurched at the realization that yes, he did have to get them out of here. Himself, Mahone and a man named Whistler. If he didn't, Sara and LJ were dead. "Besides," he added, trying to stop those thoughts. "I'm waiting to meet my new cellmate." Mahone snorted as he sat on the steps beside Michael.

"Considering your last one, he can't be any worse." He commented. Michael smirked. The agent was right; nothing could be worse than his cellmate. The man had accused him of theft and then had tried to kill him. Michael's mind flashed back to that day:

_The man lay in the ground, stunned by the blows of Michael's fists. Michael turned again to try and leave, but the crowd shoved him back in, eager to see someone die. Behind his back, someone slipped the man a knife. He grabbed it, straightened up and charged at Michael's unprotected back. Any shouted warnings were drowned out in the crowd. Just as it seemed like the bloodshed would begin, a hand grabbed the attacker's wrist, twisting it enough to break it. Michael whirled around to stare with the shocked crowd as Mahone almost calmly snapped the man's neck. _

Michael was yanked back to the present as he heard Mahone's voice.

"What?" he asked, looking up sharply.

"I said do you know who your new cellie is?" repeated the agent.

"Lechero just said he'd find me." Michael replied.

"And you listened to that man?" Mahone growled.

"Are you Scofield?" asked a voice. Both men looked up. A girl stood there, about fifteen. She was pretty, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Uh, yeah." Michael replied. "Are you my new cellmate?" The girl tossed her hair back and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm Max." she said.

"What's a kid like you doing in here?" Mahone asked, voicing his and Michael's thoughts. "I mean, you're what? Thirteen?"

"I'm fourteen." The girl snapped. "And it wasn't my fault. Nobody told me that his neck would snap that easily!"

"You killed someone?" Mahone said, trying to suppress a smile. The girl's blue eyes narrowed.

"Yeah. Want me to demonstrate?" she growled. Just then, T-Bag walked up. He eyed the girl and Michael wanted to wipe the smug smirk off his face.

"Hey li'l darlin'." He called in his Southern accent. "You look lost. Want me to show you around?" Max turned to face him. Michael shot to his feet, wanting to get this kid away from the creep. Others assembled, and they all saw what had once been thought impossible. Max's upper lip curled in disgust.

"What?" she snarled. "No candy?"

"Maybe we can find us some." T-Bag suggested slyly. Lechero walked out just in time to see Max grab T-Bag's arm and twist it to one side easily, as if she were swatting at a bug.

T-Bag screamed in pain.

"YOU'RE BREAKING MY ARM!!" he howled.

"No I'm not. See, if I was going to break your arm, I'd turn it this way." The girl replied, rotating the arm in the opposite direction. "Listen to me very carefully, you one handed freak." She growled. "I've seen my fair share of skirmishes, and I'm a pretty good fighter, too. So let me make one thing very clear: You come near me again, don't think that I can't – and won't – kick your skinny white butt from here to next week!" She released him and then stomped off. Michael followed her, the only sounds in the courtyard being their footsteps and T-Bag's sobbing.

_That was very foolish, Max_.

_Shut up, Jeb._ Max thought furiously as she entered the prison.

_Making enemies is not the best way to make friends._

_No freaking duh, Dad._ Max's cellmate walked behind her, not saying anything. He simply stopped at their cell.

"Which bunk?" Max asked gruffly. He shrugged, clearly letting her choose. Score one for him. Max eyed the bunks and then her cellmate. "You're taller." She grunted, tossing her coat on the bottom bunk. He nodded and put his hoodie on the top. Someone cleared their throat and both turned. A tall black man stood there.

"That was some confrontation." He commented. Max snorted.

"You'd best make sure that your boy watches his back." She said coolly.

_Max, you are going to give me gray hair._

_Too late._ Max thought as she spoke again to the apparent leader of the jail. "The same goes for everyone in this dump. Anybody lays a finger on me; they're going to find themselves short a few brain cells." He nodded and looked at her cellmate.

"You've got the Superstar here as your cellmate." He commented. Max blinked. _Jeb, what is he talking about?_

_Michael Scofield, broke his brother out of prison and just as they proved him innocent, Michael was arrested for murder. Rumor is he took the rap for a friend._

_I knew that you were useful for something._ Max thought as she shrugged.

"Yeah. So what?" she asked. The man smirked.

"I just think it's interesting. I don't like the Superstar." He explained. Max snorted.

"And I care about this….why?" she asked in a nonchalant voice. The smirk vanished.

"Don't be countin' on me to protect you from any of these lowlifes." The man growled. "You're in his crowd, you're not in mine." Max smiled evilly.

"No worries. I can take pretty good care of myself." She replied. "In case you didn't notice." She added.

"You're as great of a fool as he is." The man snarled. He snapped and another man behind him stepped forward. Max tensed, ready.

_That's good, Max. Trust your instincts._ Jeb advised. The man simply handed her a towel and stepped back. They began to leave.

"Hey!" Max barked suddenly. "And for your information, the 'Superstar' happens to be my cellmate. So if anybody wants to mess with him, they go through me!" The man turned, grinning.

"That doesn't seem so hard." He commented. One of his men stepped forward. Everything in Max screamed at her to extend her wings and show these creeps who they were messing with. But she simply studied the man. _If he takes one more step, he is _so_ mine!_

_Patience, Max. Wait for him to make the first move._ Finally, some advice she liked. The man glared at her. _Right hook, Max._ Jeb said, as if Max hadn't seen it a mile away. She ducked her head to avoid it, and then slammed her sneaker into the man's gut. He let out a choked gasp and crumpled. Max shoved back a lock of hair and glared at the lead man.

"I don't budge that easy." She growled. He looked furious, but he merely called his men back and they left. Max smiled grimly and flexed her muscles. _That was fun. Maybe this prison thing won't be so bad._

**A/N: Please don't flame this. If you don't like it, you don't have to review! If you like it, please let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Prison Break or MR

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Prison Break or MR. If I did, then I would be a lot richer.**

**A/N: OK, you guys have my buddy panache2005 to thank for my updating this. She asked me to and I thought, "What else is there to do?" So thanks pal! I probably wouldn't have updated this one for a while if it weren't for you. ;D**

"Where are you?" Susan's voice was colder than usual.

"I'm on my way to see him," Lincoln Burrows replied, getting out of the car and heading for the sign-in booth at Sona.

"I expect a full report." Susan growled before hanging up. _B--_, Lincoln thought. He went in and was surprised to see that the booth was almost filled with people, all yelling.

"I don't see why we can't all go see her!" the only adult, a man, was protesting.

"Where's Max? Is she really in there? Are we allowed to go inside? I'd kind of like to hug Max. I miss her. Why did she get sent here in the first place? Isn't this a boys' prison?" one girl was babbling.

"Jeb, should I talk to him?" another girl, a cute blonde, asked sweetly.

"NO!!" Everyone else yelled. The girl pouted and whispered something to her dog.

"Senor, I have told you already," the guard was saying. "Only four people at a time."

"That's dumb!" a boy said scathingly.

"That's enough, Gasser!" the man snapped. "Sir, these kids are her only family. She'll _want_ to see them! I'll stay out if necessary!"

"This sucks." A tall, blond boy muttered. "Mucho lame-o." The final kid, a tall, dark haired boy, was silent.

"What if we went in turns?" the man pleaded. The guard shook his head.

"No, senor. That would take too much time. There are others who want to see their loved ones." The little blonde girl stepped forward.

"Please?" she begged. The man sighed and massaged his temples, muttering something about how, "I shouldn't let her……" The guard seemed hypnotized by the angelic child. He finally nodded, resulting in a cheer from all the other kids. They all piled into the yard, excitedly talking about seeing "Max". Lincoln stared after them. What was _that_ all about?

--

Max looked up as she was called to the visitation area. She hopped nimbly down from the section of wall she'd been sitting on and hurried in that direction. A man walked beside her, obviously on his way to see a loved one.

"Eager to see your family?" he asked with an Australian accent. Max couldn't help but nod.

"I've got five siblings." She explained. _And they're all here,_ she thought as she walked out into the fenced visiting area. At the sight of her, Nudge started calling out all sorts of things. Iggy couldn't see her, but he smiled just the same. Max hurried over. She looked up at the older man, the only adult present.

"Dad," she said coolly. "Thanks for coming."

"You doing all right?" he asked. Max shrugged.

"How's Mom handling it?" she asked. Jeb winced.

"She and Ellie have spent the past four nights over at the embassy trying to convince everyone that what you did was self defense." He said. Max nodded and turned to her flock.

"Hey guys."

"Hi Max!"

"Max!"

"Max, Max, Max, you'll never believe what happened! We weren't allowed to come see you, so we were trying to get the guards to let us in, but they wouldn't, and then this guy came in and stood behind us, and then the guard said that only four people could get in at once, and then Angel convinced him to let us all in, and then--!"

"_Angel _did?" Max repeated, her blue eyes going up to glare at Jeb, who shrugged helplessly. Iggy looked up at the sound of her voice and smiled.

"Good to hear your voice," he said, fingers slipping through the chain-link fence. Max squeezed them. Fang was studying her carefully.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She said, smiling at him. Nudge was nearly exploding with unasked questions, so Max looked at her. "Nudge?"

"Ohmigosh, you'll never guess what happened? We went to this fancy restaurant last night, and we ordered, and they got freaked out like they did in New York, and Jeb and Dr. Martinez insisted that we'd be able to eat it all," Out of the corner of her eyes, Max saw the other guy, who was talking quietly to a young Hispanic woman, looking at Nudge. "And they said we couldn't, and Jeb said we could, and finally the manager came out and Jeb told him that if we did eat it all, they couldn't charge us! So we got served all our food, and all the waiters were gathered around watching us and no one else could get service so they watched us, too. And we finally finished and the manager looked _so_ mad!!" Nudge paused to take a breath and Iggy's hand flew over her mouth.

"You showed 'em," Max said with a grin. Nudge nodded.

"Are you allowed to fly in there?" Gasman asked.

"They don't know about my wings, so no." Max answered. The eight year old's eyes got wide.

"At _all_?" he gasped.

"Nope."

"Wow," Gasman breathed.

"Do you have a cellmate?" Fang asked. Max nodded and briefly told them about Scofield.

"He seems like a nice guy. I haven't had to break anything. Not of his, anyway." She added with a smirk.

"Who'd you beat up?" Iggy asked.

"Some creep named T-Bag. He had it coming," Max said with a shrug.

"Cool."

Just then, Jeb's phone rang and he answered it.

"Hello? ……Yes, we're here……..Yeah, here she is……" He handed the phone over to Max.

"Hello...Hey Mom!"

"Are you all right?" Dr. Martinez sounded worried.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Mom, relax, OK? Nobody here has tried to mess with me yet. And those who have will regret it,"

"Be careful!"

"I will," Max promised. Jeb tapped his watch. "Look, I have to go, OK? You and Ella come see me soon, OK? Love you,"

"I love you too, sweetheart. Be safe."

"Aren't I always?" Max joked before hanging up the phone and handing it back to Jeb. Several goodbyes and hand squeezes later, she was heading back to her cell.

--

Lincoln headed for his car. The meeting with Michael had gone well; everything was right on schedule.

"Excuse me, sir?" asked a sudden voice. Lincoln looked up to see one of the kids from the guard booth looking at him. "You dropped this," the kid said, holding up Lincoln's phone.

"Thanks," Lincoln said, taking the phone gratefully.

"Gasser!" yelled one of the other kids. "Move!" The kid speedily ran off to get into an SUV. Lincoln watched them drive off and then started to call Susan, thinking that as much bad as there was in the world, there was still some good.

**Hopefully this makes everyone happy! Lol, jk. I plan to write the next chapter on what Max did and how she got there! Don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or Prison Break. If I did, this wouldn't be fanfiction, and I wouldn't have to write this disclaimer.**

**A/N: Finally, the long awaited answer to all of your questions: How Max got in Sona! Enjoy!**

_Three Days Earlier……_

"It's too hot," Nudge complained. Max glanced at her. Anything that would limit the eleven-year old to single sentences _had_ to be big.

"There are like, 10000 channels on the TV." Iggy said. "Is _anything _on?" Gasman was flipping channels.

"News, figure skating, news, infomercial for a diet, news, soap opera, news, something in Spanish, another thing in Spanish……"

"You guys want to go do something?" Max asked. Everyone looked at her (or on her general direction, in Iggy's case).

"I thought your mom said we weren't allowed to go out without an adult," Iggy said. Max shrugged.

"I'm in the mood to go see things," she said. Ella, Max's stepsister, looked up from where she was sprawled on the other bed.

"I don't care if it's disobeying, let's go _do_ something!" she cried. Max grinned and stood up.

"You're getting rebellious," she commented.

"I blame you," Ella mumbled, grabbing her purse. The flock laughed and piled out of the room, leaving behind a few stray feathers and a messy room.

--

"What's Spanish for 'bird'?"

"Can we eat there? Iggy, they're offering 'New Steaming Hot Burritos'!"

"How do you know? You don't read Spanish!"

"The sign's also in English, dude."

"Can we go into that toy store?"

"How much money do we have?"

"Can we go fly somewhere?"

"I'm hot. Can we get a drink?"

"Hold it, guys!" Max yelled. "We can do whatever we want, let's just slow down and try not to do it all at once. Deal?" Everyone nodded and she led them to a bench and sat down. "OK, let's strategize. First of all, sorry Gazzy, but it's too early to get any lunch yet. See? The sign says that it starts at noon. That gives us two hours to shop and do whatever else before lunch. Does anyone need to go to the bathroom? OK, then……."

--

Jeb Batchelder walked into the hotel room.

"Max? I'm back, guys, if you wanted to go sightseeing or……" He trailed off as he took in the messy hotel room, the TV that wasn't on, the scattered feathers, and the absence of six human-bird hybrids and a Hispanic girl. "Max? Fang? Iggy? Nudge? Angel, where are you? This isn't good!" he muttered, grabbing his keys and hurrying out again.

--

LJ Burrows was curled up in the back of a van. His hands were secured by duct tape, and a similar strip had been pressed over his mouth, silencing him. Up in the front of the van, two men and a woman sat, paying little – if any – attention to the boy. One man and the woman were in the front seat, while another man crouched just behind them. Both men wore T-shirts and looked like average tourists……except for the guns at their sides. The woman, though she didn't have a gun, looked twice as deadly. Her blue eyes were like two chips of ice, and there was nothing in them but cruelty and hatred.

LJ tore his eyes off his captors to look at his fellow prisoner: A woman, in her late twenties. She was bound and gagged in the same way LJ was, only she didn't look as scared. Defiance shone out of her brown eyes and she gave LJ a reassuring glance. He gulped and tried not to think about what could happen.

Up in the front of the van, the driver cursed in Spanish when he saw that they were entering the marketplace.

"Relax!" the woman ordered. "No one pays attention to the vans, or what's in them. Just drive."

--

Ella was getting thirsty. Despite the fact that they were out of the hot, stuffy hotel room, it was even hotter outside. Looking around, she saw a water fountain near some public restrooms. Extremely relieved, she looked at Fang.

"I'm going to go get a drink of water," she said. He nodded, his expression shadowed beneath his dark hair. Ella waded through the crowd towards the water fountain. Fang, Iggy and the entire flock were a mystery to her. They'd taken to living with her and her mom like fishes to water, but still, there was something in their past that had made them wary. It was as if they were afraid to get attached. Ella didn't blame them. She'd heard about the horrible School and its Erasers, and all the things that had happened to the flock before they'd found Ella and her family.

A huge gray van trundled through the crowd, nearly hitting several people. Ella glared through the window, but the two people in front ignored her. Rolling her eyes, she started to look away, but then she saw two people in the very back of the van. One of them, a boy about her age, caught her eye. His blue eyes widened and he sent her a pleading look. Ella felt her entire body go cold as she saw the tape over his mouth and around his wrists. She let out an involuntary gasp and then looked at the drivers. To her horror, the woman was glowering at her. Eyes wide, Ella began to back away. The woman barked out an order and, the next thing Ella knew, the side door of the van was sliding open, and a man was emerging, coming at her with a gun. Ella saw the silencer and knew that he could shoot her and be gone before anyone noticed. So she did the one thing she could think of: Screamed.

--

"Isn't there any way we can get there faster?" Jeb demanded. His cab driver threw up his hands in despair.

"What can I tell you, senor? It is market day. People are shopping." He said. Jeb sighed and then, fishing in his pocket, pulled out a couple of bills. Tossing them at the cabbie, he got out of the cab and started walking.

--

"Where's Ella?" Max asked, realizing that her stepsister was no longer with them.

"She went to get some water," Fang said, nodding towards the restrooms. Max looked in that direction to see if she could see her stepsister. _Crap._ She could see Ella all right…..and the man who was pointing a gun at her.

--

Susan watched from the driver's seat as the man advanced on the girl.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the driver asked.

"She saw too much," Susan answered calmly. She looked back at LJ and Sara Tancredi, who were staring at her in horror. "She needs to learn not to stick her nose in other people's business."

--

The man smiled. This was an easy shot for him, and he had no qualms about killing one girl. Besides, if she had told the cops, they'd be arrested, and people who are arrested never get paid. Advancing on her, he got ready to pull the trigger.

BAM!! Something slammed into his wrist, sending the gun flying out of his grasp. Startled and a bit peeved, he looked up to see a tall, blonde girl step in between him and his target.

"Back off!" she growled. Cursing, the man balled his hands into fists and got ready to fight. After all, she was just a girl.

--

Jeb was running towards the marketplace when he saw a gun land on the street beside him. Frowning, he looked up and saw Ella facing a man, who looked ready to kill. And in between them, was Max.

--

_Max, get out of there!_

Max ignored the Voice. This guy had tried to kill Ella, and Max refused to let him get away with it.

_Max, GET OUT OF THERE!! NOW!!_

"You do not want to do this, senora." The man warned.

"I was just about to say the same thing," Max spat. They began to circle each other slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, Max saw Fang grab Ella's arm and pull her out of harm's way. The man lunged suddenly, swinging his right hand. Max ducked it, and then dodged the following two punches.

--

A crowd was beginning to gather. Susan was furious. The idiot had let a teenage girl kick his gun away.

"Drive!" she ordered. Her companion stepped on the gas. Susan sighed. At least the fool hadn't known anything. If he got arrested, he wouldn't be able to turn her in.

--

The crowd roared as Max's sneaker connected with the man's gut. Putting her back to her opponent, she slammed her left elbow into his nose and her other one into his ribs. The man howled with pain and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off the ground. Clenching her teeth, Max lowered her head and then threw it backwards, slamming it into the man's face. Screeching, he dropped her and she rolled to her feet, ready. Snarling in rage and pain, he lunged towards her. Moving on the balls of her feet, Max skipped to one side and then slammed the heel of her hand into the back of the man's neck. If this had been a human vs. human fight, the man would have had a bruise. But when it was a human vs. a human-avian hybrid, the man got a snapped neck. Without so much as a death rattle, he dropped to the ground. Max tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, glaring at the body of her sister's attacker, as if she could vaporize him with her glare.

--

"She killed him…." Ella breathed, horrified. "Max killed him!"

"Protecting you," Fang said. He was staring at Max, brow furrowed. Max looked at them and began to step towards them. Then they heard the sirens. Max didn't flinch. Glancing behind her, she signaled to Fang with a series of hand gestures. Fang nodded and then grabbed Ella's arm. "Come on, let's go. Guys, move it!" he hissed. Ella could only stare as the flock scattered, abandoning Max.

--

Max looked up as Jeb was suddenly at her side.

"What have you done?" he demanded, staring at the body.

"Protected my family, the way _someone_ trained me." Max said evenly, staring at him. The police arrived and rushed towards them. Jeb glared at her.

"I hope you're prepared to pay for that." He muttered. She replied in two simple words:

"I am."

**Ta-da! That's how Max got arrested! Hopefully you like this! Please R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Maximum Ride or Prison Break.**

LJ watched as Susan and the man left, slamming the door behind them. Eyeing it warily, he looked at the woman who was also being held hostage.

"Hi," he said lamely.

"Are you OK?" she asked urgently. He nodded, feeling his throat close up. He wanted to cry, to beat his fists against the wall and yell "I want my dad!"

"I'm LJ," he said, choosing the less embarrassing option.

"Sara," she replied, nodding to him. LJ frowned.

"Tancredi?" he asked. Looking surprised, she nodded.

"How do you know about me?" she demanded.

"My-my dad told me about how you helped him and my Uncle Mike," LJ said.

"Michael Scofield?"

"Yeah," Recognition dawned on her face.

"You're LJ Burrows," she said. He nodded. "How'd you get here?"

"I was on my way here with a friend of my dad's," LJ said, staring at his worn sneakers. "S-Susan met us at the airport."

"And your dad's friend?" Sara asked. LJ wordlessly shook his head, shutting his eyes tightly. What had happened to Jane…………it was too much to think about.

A hand suddenly touched his shoulder. "Hey," Sara said, rubbing his back. "We're gonna get through this, OK? It's gonna be OK, I promise."

--

Fang studied Sona. The courtyard was mostly empty, but he could make out a few dark shapes that were prisoners lying in the enclosed square. The cool night breeze ruffled his dark hair. Fang studied the windows, wondering which one was Max's cell. He frowned at the word. _Cell_. It was almost as bad as a dog crate, for heaven's sake! His raptor vision suddenly zeroed in on something hanging outside a window. Standing up, Fang ran lightly along the roof of the guard tower and then jumped off, spreading his dark wings to their full span. To the guards below, he was barely more than a passing shadow, a simple _whoosh_ of air. He circled over the window and then dove, snatching the thing before opening his wings and shooting up into the sky.

About an hour later, he let himself in the hotel window. Flipping on the bedside light, he looked at the thing. It was a scrap of paper and Fang unrolled it, reading the familiar scrawl:

_Fang,_

_Don't worry about me. You're in charge. Take care of the family. All of them. _

_Love you guys!_

_Max_

Fang wordlessly threw the paper away and then stood up and wandered over to the room where the three girls were sleeping: Ella, Nudge and Angel. Angel's arms clutched her bear Celeste, who had – finally – gotten cleaned. Nudge twitched in her sleep and mumbled something. Ella rolled over and then sighed. Fang looked over to where Dr. Martinez – he could never call her "Mom" – and Jeb were sleeping. She was curled up by his side and his arm was wrapped protectively around her. Yawning, Fang ambled back into the boys' room. Gasman was engulfed in the comforter, and Iggy was a lump of white covers. Fang allowed a small smile to creep across his face.

"Don't worry, Max," he whispered as he crawled into his bed. "I'll take care of them."

--

Michael Scofield hopped down from his bunk, careful not to wake up his cellmate. He studied her for a moment. She was almost six feet tall, but skinny as a bird. Michael sighed and shook his head. How a kid like that ever killed anyone was a mystery. He went into the shower room, hoping to find a shower that actually worked. Since the prison had been taken over to the prisoners, it was a miracle when things worked. Today, he managed to find a working hot shower and happily stood under it while the hot drops fell on his tattooed body. After about a half an hour under the glorious water, he got dressed and went back to his cell. Max was still asleep. Michael bit his lip. Breakfast would be served soon, and he would have to wake her. He looked around and – as if by some Godsend – Alex Mahone stood there. Michael sighed in relief.

"Alex!" he called. Mahone saw him and waded through the crowd of inmates to his fellow prisoner.

"What's up?" he asked. Michael looked at Max.

"We need to wake her," he said. Mahone looked at him, then at Max, then back at him.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked. Michael just stared at him. Mahone sighed and stepped towards Max. Then she started moaning and he froze.

--

_It had been just over a year since Max and the flock had come to live with the Martinez family. They were happy enough. Jeb occasionally dropped by, but he spent most of his time at work and came home mostly at night, when the flock never saw him. So Max was surprised when he came in and walked over to where she and the flock were in the living room, watching TV. _

"_Max," he said in a weird voice. Confused, she looked up._

"_Jeb," she replied. Hesitating, he sat down on the couch beside her._

"_I have news about Itex," he announced. Max felt her heart drop. Were they going to have to leave? Gasman wordlessly turned off the TV and the flock all watched Jeb, waiting expectantly. _

"_Spit it out!" Iggy urged, practically squirming with anticipation. _

"_Shut up!" Max commanded, her eyes locked on Jeb. He met her gaze and then took a deep breath._

"_The President reviewed your tape, and……Itex was destroyed, Max. The Director, the scientists, everyone was arrested." He said, studying her closely. Max felt her entire body go numb. She stared at him._

"_Is it…?" she whispered. Jeb nodded, his eyes moist._

"_It's over, Max," he said softly. "You did it. You saved the world." Max felt her throat closing. Remembering the flock, she swallowed, trying to hold back the tears. Then Jeb's hand was on her shoulder, he was pulling her close, into a strong, fatherly embrace. Ordinarily, Max would have shoved him away from her, snapping that she didn't need him. But instead, she crumpled, sobbing into his jacket. It was over. Their mission was over. She didn't have to save the world anymore. Now she could just be free. She and the flock could stay with Ella and Mom and Jeb. No more running. No more pain. It was over._

--

Michael and Mahone watched in stunned silence and Max started rocking back and forth, crying.

"What do we do?" Mahone demanded. Michael didn't answer. Finally, he spoke.

"We leave." Then he turned and started to walk off. Mahone grabbed his arm.

"We _what_?" he hissed. "Just leave her like this?" Michael pulled free.

"Would you want to get caught?" he asked calmly before walking out. Mahone stared after him and then looked at Max before following.

--

Max awoke with a start. She sat up, automatically doing a 360 scan of the room. It was empty. Obviously, her cellmate had left already for breakfast or whatever. Yawning, Max stood up, stretching. Max felt her stiff wings. Maybe tonight she'd go out and stretch them after everyone was asleep. Yeah, that sounded good. Running a hand through her tangled blonde hair, she wandered outside, where all the other inmates were finishing up their breakfast. Max studied them, her stomach beginning its breakfast whine.

"Here," said a voice. Max looked up to see her cellmate, Michael, holding out a bowl of what looked like oatmeal.

"Thanks," Max said gratefully, grabbing the plastic spoon that was stuck in the mush. "Is this it?" she asked after devouring half the bowl. Michael nodded, looking sort of shocked at her eating habits. Max sighed, finished off the bowl, and then went in search of more food. She considered asking that Lechero guy, but quickly rebuked the idea.

_I'd sound like freaking Oliver Twist!_ Sighing, Max headed back to her cell. Maybe she could borrow some food from another cell.

**Here's another chapter! Enjoy!**


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